Consumer demand for fresh food on the go has risen sharply over the past few years. In line with this trend, Valora is opening the first avec store with an integrated “The Kitchen” concept at Freiestrasse 14, in the immediate vicinity of the University of Zurich, on 31 May. In an open kitchen, popular to-go dishes are freshly prepared from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, the store will be operated without staff and access, shopping and payment will be made via the avec app. At the same time, the new store is the first avec in a residential district. By the end of the year, seven more avec stores are to follow according to the new “The Kitchen” concept. Valora’s “Foodvenience” strategy is based on the steadily increasing consumer demand for fresh to-go food and the desire for convenient, fast shopping. In line with this trend, Valora is integrating “The…

The Tasmanian Government is set to take strong action introducing legislation to better protect Tasmania’s frontline workers this week in Parliament. Those who cause serious bodily harm to Tasmania’s frontline workers will be facing a presumption of a minimum of six months imprisonment for the offence. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Guy Barnett, said that every Tasmanian worker has a right to be safe at work. “I cannot be any clearer, it is totally unacceptable for Tasmanians, who are just trying to go about their business, while they work to be seriously assaulted or harmed,” the Attorney-General said. “Anyone who assaults our frontline workers – be it child safety officers, our correctional services officers, our firies, our security guards, our health workers and more – will feel the full force of the law if they seriously assault or harm a worker. “As a Government we committed to acting swiftly on…

Melbourne Men Who Allegedly Recruited More Than 20 Children, Telling Them Which Stores To Rob For Cash And Cigarettes And Providing The Stolen Getaway Cars, Have Been Arrested. Melbourne police say they have busted a major eastern suburbs crime ring involving ringleaders and their child minions who allegedly nabbed $2 million of cash and cigarettes this year. Four adults who allegedly orchestrated a network of child offenders and onsold the smokes have been arrested and charged as well, after a string of raids Wednesday morning, which nabbed a trailer load of cigarettes, tobacco and vapes, designer handbags and shoes, weapons and $240,000 cash. Eastern region Acting Inspector Dale Maxwell said more than 20 kids aged 12 to 17 were allegedly being told which service stations, supermarkets and tobacconists to rob in exchange for a couple of hundred dollars. “As part of this investigation, police have identified a sophisticated network of…

Drivers and delivery people on the Uber platform in Australia will now be able to access exclusive incentives and hashtag#EV (electric vehicle) charging discounts through bp pulse. With over 100 fast EV charge points now installed in NSW, QLD and VIC, bp pulse is supporting drivers and delivery people making the switch to EVs. This EV charging discount builds on existing offers for Uber drivers in Australia, including discounts on fuel, hashtag#wildbean cafe barista coffees, car wash and other shop offerings at participating bp service stations. Read more https://on.bp.com/4bPhOX0

A new independent payments group launched today will advocate for fairer regulation, lower debit transaction fees and greater reliability for Australian businesses and their customers, as the cost-of-living climbs and cash is rapidly replaced by digital payments in the Australian economy. The Independent Payments Forum Australia (IPF) aims to represent voices that currently go unheard in a payments debate dominated by the big banks and their subsidiaries, global technology players and card schemes, Visa and Mastercard. IPF founders and self-confessed “payments nerds”, Brad Kelly and Warwick Ponder, believe the current payment landscape in Australia leaves little room for many payments participants to have their say and affect change in a system that is costing businesses and their customers more than a billion dollars in unnecessary debit fees. It is essential to maintain innovation and competition in the market which provides real value for small businesses and consumers, they said. Small…